Saw palmetto is used in a Chinese herbal medicine for urologic disease from old times. In addition, it has been suggested for an action such as a tonic, a diuretic and anti-prostatomegaly. These effects derive from saw palmetto fruit or oil ingredients thereof (Non-patent documents 1 and 2).
Angiogenesis means the proliferation and growth of new blood vessels. Angiogenesis plays an important role in several physiological and pathological conditions.
In a healthy body, angiogenesis is caused in a growth phase in wound healing, for recovery of blood flow to a wound tissue, and at duration of the menstruation or pregnancy.
With over exposure of the skin to UV-rays, it is known that a thicker microvessel involved in wrinkle formation is increased abnormally thereby a research for an anti-angiogenic agent for the prevention or treatment of wrinkle has been conducted (Non-patent documents 3 to 6).
A lack of control of angiogenesis causes a number of severe disorders. It is known that so-called “overexpression of angiogenesis” causes a number of disorders. They are involved in psoriasis, arthritis, retinopathy, glaucoma, macular degeneration, periodontal disease and cancer. For example, a cancer has a high turnover efficiency compared with a normal growth of tissue. As a cancer requires more blood flow for obtaining a higher nutritional supply, anti-angiogenesis could be one of useful mechanisms for suppressing or controlling a cancer. Thus an anti-angiogenesis factor can delay the progress of such diseases.